By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
One of the main gunners of the PH national 3×3 squad that is set to compete in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) is yet to enter their training bubble in Laguna.
PBA rookie Alvin Pasaol has not entered Calamba and practiced with his teammates after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) confirmed that he is still clearing the protocols for COVID-19.
“He is clearing health and safety protocols. We expect him to join soon,” said SBP member coach Ryan Gregorio.
Pasaol’s teammates’ Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, Moala Tautuaa, Santi Santillan, and Karl Dehesa have already spent an entire week practicing together and are waiting for the inclusion of Pasaol to finalize game plans.
Time is already not on the Philippines’ side since the prized OQT will be taking place from May 26-30.
Upon Pasaol’s expected period of arrival, there will only be two weeks and a half left of preparation and Gilas 3×3 program director Ronnie Magsanoc is embracing the challenge.
“Time is not on our side, but we’re still grateful with what we have, which is being able to train together,” shared Magsanoc.
The brave Gilas hoopers will be taking on Slovenia, France, Qatar, and Dominican Republic in Pool C to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
